The Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival is canceled for this coming weekend.
According to the Kelowna Dragon Boat Club, the decision was made due to the expectation of a high risk to air quality.
“We are making this decision today to give sufficient notice to our out of town teams, vendors and race management,” they stated on social media.
This is the second big weekend event to be canceled in Kelowna due to an air quality advisory. The annual Apple Triathlon was canceled last weekend due to poor air quality that caused health concerns for the athletes, volunteers and staff.
RELATED: Apple Triathlon cancelled in Kelowna due to smoke
On Aug. 18 the real-time air quality index, which pulls a pollution rating from a station at Okanagan College, had a PM 2.5 level of 287 out of 500, and was considered worse than Jodhpur, India.
RELATED: Okanagan air quality levels worse than Jodhpur, India
The paddler party for the Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival will still be ‘a go’ from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday. The club invites everyone to come down and ‘participate in the paddler camaraderie we all enjoy, support ribfest and win some prizes’.
